Hydraulic actuation of tools has been a mainstay in mechanical systems. This is particularly true in industries where actuations must occur many hundreds to thousands of feet from an operator such as in the resource exploration and recovery industries. Many times, a simple hydraulic circuit will be sufficient but there are times in many industries where redundant systems are not only preferred but may also be required by law. Considerations of how to efficiently actuate tools while maintaining redundancy can be complicated. Add to this the requirement in some instances, such as subsurface safety valves, to be fail safe, and the complications multiply.
While there are current systems that provide redundancy and fail safe operation, each has drawbacks in terms of cost or complexity. In some cases there is reliance on components or subsystems that increase cost or maintenance regimes or indeed dictate a shorter working lifespan of the system as a whole. The industry would welcome alternative systems that reduce these drawbacks.